Social media site hit by advertising industry concern over brands appearing next to contentious material

Big brands have been withdrawing from X citing Elon Musk’s decision to loosen moderation of content in line with his free speech ethos © Rick Rycroft/AP

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A record number of advertisers plan to pull back from X next year because of concerns over being associated with extreme content, in a new blow to Elon Musk’s hopes of turning round the finances of the social media group.

According to a global survey of industry executives by analytics group Kantar, a net 26 per cent of marketers planned to cut advertising spending on X in 2025, the biggest recorded pullback from any major global advertising platform.

Big brands have been withdrawing from X, formerly known as Twitter, since Musk’s $44bn takeover in 2022, citing the entrepreneur’s decision to loosen content moderation in line with his free speech ethos. That has led to revenue declines and a plummet in the company’s value.

The Kantar survey said advertiser trust in the platform had plunged in the past year, with just 4 per cent of marketers saying adverts on X were “brand safe”, compared with 39 per cent for Google, reflecting widespread concerns about companies appearing next to contentious material.

An X spokesperson said its brand safety rate was “on average 99 per cent as validated by DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science, which is reflected by the fact that the majority of advertisers are increasing their investment in X”.

He pointed out that the Kantar data also said consumer ad preference for X had gone up significantly since 2022 and added: “Advertisers know that X now offers stronger brand safety, performance and analytics capabilities than ever before, while seeing all-time-high levels of usage.”

The Kantar study is based on interviews with 18,000 consumers in 27 markets and 1,000 senior marketers globally.

Its findings are likely to further inflame tensions between the billionaire owner of X and the advertising industry after Musk said last month that he would sue a marketing trade body and advertisers including Unilever and Mars for an alleged “illegal boycott” of the platform.

Musk has had an often adversarial relationship with the advertising industry. Disney, IBM and Apple were among the brands that left the platform last year, causing Musk to tell the boycotting advertisers to “go fuck” themselves in an interview.

Advertising executives were heartened by a charm offensive by Musk and X chief executive Linda Yaccarino at this year’s Cannes advertising festival, work that some marketers said had since gone to waste given the legal action threatened by the platform.

Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal executive, was seen as an appointment that would smooth waters with advertisers.

“Advertisers have been moving their marketing spend away from X for several years,” said Gonca Bubani, global thought leadership director for media at Kantar. “The stark acceleration of this trend in the past 12 months means a turnaround currently seems unlikely.”

In 2023, a net 14 per cent of marketers said they would cut advertising spend on X this year, while in 2022, a net 6 per cent said they would increase investment the following year.

Kantar also found that trust in adverts on X had decreased under Musk’s leadership. TikTok is considered the most innovative advertising platform by marketers, while YouTube was the most trusted and preferred advertising platform for marketers in 2024.